Poor PS Vita sales contribute to Sony losses

Sony has posted losses of 24.6 billion Yen (£202 million) for its financial year quarter 1, 2012 and it claims that poor PS3 and PSP sales have been “partially offset” by the PS Vita. However, when asked exactly how many Vitas were sold in the three-month period, company executives would reveal only PSP and PS Vita sales combined.

That figure was quoted at 1.4 million units for both handhelds together. The company sold 1.8 million PSPs alone in the same period last year.

Sony also lumped together PS2 and PS3 sales for the first time, admitting that it managed to shift only 2.8 million units – a drop of 4 million home console sales year-on-year.

Software sales were also down. The company revealed that it sold a combined total of 5.8 million PSP and PS Vita games, while PSP sales alone accounted for 6.6 million last year.

And PS3 and PS2 games saw a drop of 7.5 million units sold, to 20.1 million. It’s worth pointing out, though, that the games figures do not include digital downloads, only hard copies.

Sony has now readjusted its expectations for the PS Vita. It had previously predicted that it would sell 16 million units of the Vita and PSP combined. It now believes it will sell four million less by financial year end – March 2013.

However, although these figures look grim for Sony and its new handheld, it’s worth noting that the games industry itself looks to be struggling – at least, in hardware terms.

Nintendo recently posted losses of its own, its first in a year. It is speculated that gamers are reluctant to buy into the current generation of consoles, waiting out for the Wii U and possible PS4 and Xbox 720 launches next year.

In PS Vita terms, Sony will also point to a wave of big-brand titles coming soon, including Little Big Planet. Pocket-lint also wonders, considering the financial results, whether a price drop is on the cards too.